


Season of Miracles

by liairene



Series: A Visitor's Guide to Highbury [27]
Category: Emma - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Holidays, Modern Era, Small Towns, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28009611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liairene/pseuds/liairene
Summary: Family can often make the holidays complicated. But when your family includes Henry Woodhouse, complicated can feel like the understatement of the century.
Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, George Knightley/Emma Woodhouse, Isabella Knightley/John Knightley
Series: A Visitor's Guide to Highbury [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/908481
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Season of Miracles

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second of my Christmas in Highbury stories. I'm planning to have two more coming. I hope you enjoy this.

“Seriously, Elsa, my father is going to be the death of me.”

Elsa didn’t even look up from her knitting. “What now?”

“I am going to kill that man,” Emma hissed. “I know that I’ve said it before, but this time it’s for real.”

Elsa set her knitting on the counter. “Okay, Em, what did he do now?”

“He’s ruining Christmas.”

“It’s November 7. How has he ruined Christmas?”

“Jack and Resa announced that they’re not coming to Michigan for Christmas. It’s just too hard on Resa’s allergies and asthma.” Jack and Resa Knightley, George’s parents, had moved to Arizona several years earlier in hopes that the drier climate would help Teresa’s chronic breathing issues.

“I can see that.”

“So, John and Izzy and George and I-we all talked about it. And we decided that maybe this year we could have Christmas in Arizona.”

“That sounds nice.”

Emma’s face brightened momentarily. “It does, doesn’t it?”

“I’m sensing a but here.”

“My dad doesn’t like this. He doesn’t to do things differently.”

Elsa nodded sympathetically. “I’m not surprised.”

“I know,” Emma sighed. “I’m not either. But he’s being such a baby about the whole thing.”

“Go have a seat in a quiet nook. I’ll make you something special and get Mary to staff the counter so we can chat.”

Emma let out a long low breath and visibly relaxed. “Elsa, you are a goddess. Thank you.”

Elsa smiled and waved a hand casually. “Yeah, yeah, yeah; get on, you. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Emma smiled at her friend again before going to settle herself in the large teal wingback by the shop’s window facing Austen Street. She sighed again as she closed her grey eyes.

A few minutes later, a throat cleared above Emma, and she opened her eyes to see a large green mug in front of her face. She took the mug and smiled at Elsa. “You’re a saint.”

“I just give people coffee when they’re stressed. That’s not exactly grounds for canonization.”

Emma took a sip from the mug. “Oh, this is nice. What is it?”

Elsa sank into the large burgundy chair with a smile. “It’s a brown sugar cinnamon latte. It’s simple but flavorful.”

“What do you have?”

“Just a latte with cashew milk, nothing fancy today; anyway, the siblings all agreed on Arizona and your dad is pitching a fit?”

Emma sighed and took a sip of her drink before beginning. “Yeah, so we told him what we were thinking, and the way he reacted you, you would have thought that we’d suggested cancelling Christmas.”

“Just because he doesn’t like change?”

“Well, that’s the REAL reason, but you know Henry Woodhouse. That’s not what he said.”

“Oh lord,” Elsa rolled her eyes. “What did he say?”

“First, he didn’t think that it was fair to Theo for ‘the poor sweet baby to not get to have a traditional Woodhouse Christmas for his first Christmas.’” Emma rolled her eyes as she made quotation marks with her fingers. “Then he didn’t think that it was fair to tell Jack and Resa that they had to host all of us.”

“They would love to have all of you down there!”

“Exactly,” Emma stated flatly. “They’ve only been inviting us down there since they moved. And we wouldn’t be staying in their condo anyway. We’d rent a house or two houses for all of us.”

“And he didn’t like that?”

“Of course not! He’s worried about missing Christmas Mass at St. Martha’s because supposedly he’s part of the tradition.”

Elsa blinked rapidly. “How? He doesn’t sing or do a reading or play an instrument or anything.”

“He’s there,” Emma spat. “He is Henry Woodhouse, Mayor of Highbury and he is physically present for Christmas Mass at St. Martha’s, and that matters. Or at least it does according to him.”

“We’d live without him for one year.”

“Well, you can’t tell him that.”

“Of course not,” Elsa agreed.

Emma leaned back into the depths of the chair and sighed. “And then he had to fuss about what Chris and his mom and Eliza would do for Christmas because they always spend it with us and we’re really their only family.”

“They could join my family,” Elsa suggested. “Three extra people wouldn’t be a problem for us. Or I think that Erik and Annie are hosting the Wentworth family this year. I bet that they’d host the Brandons.”

“Or Uncle Charles and Aunt Claire could host them. They’re still going to celebrate Christmas without us. The point is that someone would host them. They wouldn’t be abandoned without us. He’s being so dramatic about this whole thing, and he’s not thinking about how this impacts anyone other than us. He’s definitely not thinking about how this will impact Jack and Resa. He’s acting like he cares about other people like Chris’s family but it’s really all about him. He just wants things to be the way that he wants them to be. But here’s the thing. Christmas is about family, and our family isn’t just him. It’s Jack and Resa. George and I want them to be a part of Theo’s first Christmas, and that cannot happen if we have Christmas at home. Resa got really sick last year. She can’t come to Michigan this Christmas.”

“I know,” Elsa said quietly the gap while Emma took a long breath and then a sip of coffee.

“I’m tired of him,” Emma sighed. “He’s my dad, and I love him, and I want him to be happy. But good lord, Elsa, I’m so tired of him dominating life and dictating how we do everything.”

“I know, Em.”

“I love him, but I’m so tired of his bullshit. We’ve let him get away with this for so long. And I’m not asking for much. We’re just asking to go and spend Christmas with the whole family together so that we can do what’s best for Resa.”

“And that’s good. You’re doing the right thing.”

“I just wish that he saw it that way.”

Elsa squeezed her friend’s hand. “I’m sorry. I wish I had some advice for you.”

Emma shook her head. “It’s okay. I don’t need advice just yet. I’m just grateful to have someone who isn’t emotionally invested in this listen to me think. George can’t be unbiased in this one. He has way too many opinions about the whole situation.”

“Well, of course he does. It’s his family Christmas too.”

“And it’s his parents that my dad is trying to shove out of Christmas.”

Elsa nodded solemnly. “And that makes it harder for him.”

“Yeah,” Emma spoke sadly. “I wish my dad could see how his behavior is hurting John and George.”

“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

“It would make everything so much easier.” Emma pulled her phone out of her purse and sighed. “I should get going. I left Theo with George and it’s almost time for him to eat again.”

“I can put the rest of that in a to-go cup if you like,” Elsa offered rising from her chair.

Her friend held up the mug. “That would be lovely. Thank you so much-both for the coffee and for listening.”

“Of course, what else are friends for? Feel free to drop in anytime you need a listening ear.”

Emma hugged Elsa. “You’re the best. I appreciate it.”

* * *

“Well,” George Knightley pronounced firmly as he walked into his office after lunch the Monday before Thanksgiving. “That won’t up and start World War III at all.”

“What won’t?” Ed queried without looking up from his computer.

“My brother and Izzy booked tickets to spend Christmas in Arizona with my parents.”

“Good for them!” Will said.

George raised his eyebrows and sighed. “And they’re working on booking a house now. They’re getting something that’s big enough for us to stay with them.”

“Oh, good thinking,” Will raised his eyebrows and nodded. “That’ll make things more convenient.”

“But we still haven’t managed to convince Henry that this trip both a good thing and a thing that is happening.”

Ed nodded. “That’s rough.”

“This whole thing is rough. Granted, Henry’s always been difficult, but this time it’s almost like he’s trying to be difficult.”

“I’m sorry,” Will said with a furrowed brow. “I really wish that there was a way to fix this.”

“Yeah,” Ed nodded. “But it seems like there’s no easy answer.”

“Other than telling him that he’s either coming with us or alone for Christmas, there is no answer at all.”

“I’m sure that would go over well,” Ed said flatly.

“Oh, it’s a guaranteed lead balloon. But I don’t know what else to do. I want to go to Arizona. Emma wants to go. My brother and sister-in-law have already booked their flights and lodging. I think we’re going. We just have to work around Henry somehow.”

“Somehow,” Will repeated.

George looked down at his feet. “I don’t know what to do. And Emma is exhausted. Theo isn’t sleeping through the night. And I don’t need her more stressed than she already is. But her dad isn’t helping anything. I just need a simple solution.”

“There are no simple solutions with Henry Woodhouse.”

* * *

About a week later, George got a text message from Chris Brandon. “Your father-in-law called me.”

“Oh lord,” was all that George replied.

“He told me that you’re abandoning him for Christmas.”

“Good lord.”

“Don’t worry. I told him that we already have invitations from the Bennets, Erik & Annie, and your uncle.”

“Have you picked one?”

Chris appeared not to have read that text before continuing. “He seemed disappointed that other people could want to spend Christmas with us.”

“Sounds like Henry.”

“We’re going to the Bennets. It’s the least loaded.”

George was pretty sure that he knew what Chris was saying, but he chose not to address it in the moment. “How did he take that?”

“Honestly, he seemed irritated. Like I said, he was disappointed that someone else would want us. And he seemed frustrated that we would dare to make plans without him.”

George laughed aloud. Henry Woodhouse was nothing if not predictable. “Well, thanks for taking away another of his excuses.”

“My pleasure.”

* * *

“Dad, it’s simple. We’re going to Arizona for Christmas. John and Izzy are going. Your family is going to Arizona for Christmas. You can either come with us, or you can spend Christmas alone.”

“I don’t like this, Emma,” her father replied bitterly. “You’re not being a very respectful daughter, abandoning your father for Christmas.”

“We’re not abandoning you. We’re inviting you to come with us.”

“We want you to come with us,” George added. “If you don’t come, you’ll miss Theo’s first Christmas.”

“If you had it here, we wouldn’t have to have this conversation.”

Emma glared at her father. “If we had it here, then Jack and Resa would have to miss it.”

“They could come up here. They always have in the past.”

“My mom’s doctors told her that she can’t,” George returned flatly. “The weather is terrible on her lungs. She already came up in early November for Theo’s baptism. The doctors do not want her to come to Michigan again in cold weather. The cold and damp are dangerous for her lungs.”

“Well, they’re good with the new-fangled technologies. They could Facebook or whatever.”

George covered his face with his hands. “Henry, I love you,” he began slowly. “And I want to spend Christmas with you. I want you to be at my son’s first Christmas. But I also love my mother and I want her to both be at my son’s first Christmas and be safe and healthy. Emma and I are taking our son to Arizona for Christmas. You can come with us if you choose. Or you can stay here and make your own arrangements.”

“This is cruel,” Henry sulked. “In my day, children had more respect for their elderly parents.”

“Dad, you’re sixty-four. You’re hardly elderly,” Emma told him.

“You should be glad that your mother isn’t alive to see you and your sister treat their poor old father like this.”

Emma threw her hands up in the air and stood up. “That’s it, Dad. I’m done. We’re going to Arizona. You can come with us. Who know? You might even like it. But don’t bring Mom into this. We both know that Mom loved to travel, and if she had the opportunity to spend Christmas in Arizona with all of her grandchildren, she’d jump on it.”

“You can’t tell me what your mother would or wouldn’t want. You barely remember her.”

Emma’s face hardened. “Don’t you ever say that to me again. I was eight when Mom died. I remember her and Leo plenty well. We traveled a lot when Mom was alive. We went to Disney World a month before she died. That was a great trip.”

“Emma,” Henry began stretching out a hand towards his daughter.

“Don’t,” she snapped as she took her son in her arms. “I can’t do this right now. We’ve let you have your own way for too long, and you’re acting like a child.”

“You can’t talk to me like that,” her father called as she walked out of the room. “I’m your father. You can’t talk to your father like that.”

Emma didn’t look back. She didn’t reply. She just left the room and went upstairs.

Henry turned to his son-in-law. “Talk to her. You have to make her listen to me.”

George shook his head. “No, I don’t. I’m her husband, and my first responsibility is to her. And you know what, Henry? She’s right.” He stood up. “We’re going to Arizona. You can either come with us or make your own Christmas plans.”

“What happened to respecting your father?”

George looked around the room for a minute. “We’re respecting you as best we can. But we’re also respecting my family. You’re not the beginning and end of Emma’s family. I’m her family. Theo is her family. And my parents are her family. We’re doing this for them.”

“But this won’t be what I’m used to,” Henry protested weakly.

“That’s life. Change happens. You can roll with it or you can fight it. But in this case, your life is going to be a lot simpler if you roll with it.”

* * *

“Any updates yet?” Elsa asked Emma at Sunday brunch on December 20.

The redhead pressed her lips together and shook her head. “We’re leaving on Wednesday no matter what, but we still don’t know what Dad is doing. It’s driving both of us nuts. And we’re thinking about moving back into George’s house.”

“That’s not the worst idea in the world.”

“Dad would probably hate it, but I think we all hate the way things are in the house right now.”

“I’m sorry, Em.”

Emma smiled slightly. “It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but I wish there was something that I could do for you.”

“I mean,” Emma sighed. “Just having someone who listens to me vent about this whole thing has been super useful.”

“Well, I’m happy to do that. And I’m happy to give you fancy coffee drinks while doing so.”

“George says that you need to stop giving me caffeine because that’s what he thinks keeps Theo up at night.”

Elsa pressed her lips together and thought for a moment. “Actually he might have something there.”

“Yeah, but I need caffeine to keep up with my nocturnal baby,” Emma protested.

Her friend laughed. “I get that. Remember, I went back to work six weeks after Clara was born. I was a crazy person last year.”

“You were Superwoman last fall.”’

Elsa shrugged. “I just did what I had to.”

“I couldn’t have done what you did.”

“You don’t know what. You’ll never know unless you find yourself where I was.”

“I don’t know, Elsa.”

“Em, trust me. You’re stronger than you think you are.”

“Let’s just hope that I never have to find out.”

Elsa squeezed Emma’s shoulder. “You’re a remarkable person, Emma. I hope you know that.”

Emma shrugged. “I just do my best.”

“That’s all any of us can do.”

* * *

Tuesday afternoon, Emma was in her office at the vineyard when her father called her. “How does one buy a plane ticket? Do I need to call a travel agent? How do you even find a travel agent in the twenty-first century? Do you have a good travel agent?”

Emma put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing aloud. “You can buy a ticket on the internet.”

“How do you do that? Can you come over here and help me with that?”

She took a deep breath. “Ask Gloria. She can help you.”

“But Emma, I want your help.”

“I’m working, Dad. Ask your secretary to help you.”

“Please, Emma?” He sounded childish and almost pitiful.

Emma sighed. “Dad, don’t take this the wrong way, but I really don’t have time. I can send Gloria my flight information, but you’d be better asking her to help you book the flight. I’m sorry.”

“Fine,” he almost whined.

* * *

Henry Woodhouse grumbled the whole way to the airport. He grumbled through security and on to the plane. He grumbled the whole way to Arizona. He grumbled to baggage claim and the car rental desk. He stopped grumbling in the car so he could read the Phoenix billboards, which were of course different to the ones that he saw in Northern Michigan.

He started grumbling again when he saw the house that John and Izzy had rented because southwestern architecture didn’t really appeal to him, but then he let that go in the delight of realizing that his children had found a house with a first-floor bedroom with ensuite bathroom.

He liked Jack and Resa’s new house. He found the weather in Arizona far more agreeable than he’d expected. He was impressed by how well his children managed to adjust their family Christmas traditions to Arizona.

“He even willingly ate outside more than once,” Emma told Elsa during the Darcy family’s annual New Year’s Day party.

“Wow, I’m impressed.”

“Yeah,” Emma agreed. “So was I.”

“So he liked? He really liked it?” Will queried.

Emma laughed. “He did. He even said that he might go to Arizona on his own again sometime.”

“Wow,” Elsa gasped. “That man hasn’t traveled at all since…”

“Yeah, since my mom died.”

Elsa smiled at her friend. “Will wonders never cease?”

Emma grinned. “I guess not.”

“I’m just glad that we made it through another holiday season without you or Henry causing the other’s death,” George said.

“Well,” said Will brightly. “It is the season of miracles.”

* * *

The end...for now!


End file.
